


How Long Must I Wait

by readitson



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: All that affection, Alternate Canon, Around season 3, Basically just a shit ton of fluff, Canon Universe, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Humor, M/M, POV Alternating, Pidge and Hunk pro teasers, Pre Season 5, Slow Burn, awkward teenage boys, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-05-15 03:02:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14782409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readitson/pseuds/readitson
Summary: This is not only how Lance and Keith became friends, but how they realized how much they needed each other. A confession, a race, a trip to an unknown planet, and the boys seem to be finding themselves closer than they expected.





	1. The Confession

Lance dealt in extremes; that’s something Keith learnt the hard way when one minute it seemed like they were getting on, and the next Lance would be in his face yelling about one thing or another. It was tiring and confusing and eventually Keith would be yelling right back. Lance always knew the right buttons to press and Keith rose to it every time, it was shameful really.

What did he honestly want from him? Maybe he wanted him to act like a villain so Lance could actually have a reason to hate him, or maybe he wanted Keith to offer friendship and prove that they weren’t enemies. Keith was terrified to act either way. Lance was so damn dramatic, if he chose the wrong option it could end in catastrophe, probably for the whole team. But enough was enough. He was inches from a psychotic break and he worried he might go that bit further and stick a fork in the obnoxious boy’s neck. It was becoming unbearable and genuinely affecting the team, so Keith was taking action under Shiro's not so subtle suggestion.

He strode towards Lance’s room and knocked three concise times. He planned what he would say, what Lance’s possible reactions could be, how he would then respond to said reactions... Lance opened the door and Keith all but yelled in his face.

“DO YOU WANT TO FIGHT ME?”

Lance just stared at him, wearing nothing but boxers and his dressing gown looking so affronted Keith may as well have just punched him straight in the face. Keith sighed and rubbed his temples. He was already getting a headache from this and Lance hadn’t even replied.

“Literally what? It’s like 10pm Keith, you know if we’re not in bed in half an hour Allura is gonna kick our asses. Also like, seriously, what?”

Keith tried his best to look in control. “I just- I’m tired and I want to know what you want from me. Do you want us to fight? Do you want to be enemies? Friends? What? Because I honestly have no idea.”

“Uh, okay...” Lance paused a moment, “Wanna come in?”

“I guess,” Keith muttered awkwardly. He just wanted an answer and then to leave, he should have known nothing would ever be that easy with Lance.

“I feel way underdressed right now,” Lance said offhandedly.

Keith just stood and looked around Lance’s room, surprisingly tidy for a boy who has the messiest personality Keith’s ever encountered.

“Soooo, what was that about?” Lance finally asked.

Keith looked directly at Lance and tried his best not to turn tail and leave. “I never know how to act around you. Usually I wouldn’t care what people are thinking but, we’re kind of forced to work together.”

“Well it’s not like I want to work with you either!” he shot back defensively.

“No, you see, that’s not what I was saying.”

“I- oh.”

“You always assume the worst of me; it’s kind of insulting.”

For once Lance seemed at a loss, his lips pressed into a tight line as he sat down on his bed.

Keith was feeling more uncomfortable by the second. “Look I’ll just go, this is weird enough already you’re probably just going to laugh at me.”

“Why would I laugh at you?” Lance piped up, genuine enough that Keith felt like he actually wanted to listen.

“Because any sort of serious conversation we have you turn it into some way to make me look like an idiot,” Keith said, a little too bitterly.

“When have we ever had a serious talk?” Lance asked.

“Exactly, you never even notice it! You’re too busy pretending like I’m always out to get you, like I’m trying to ruin your life for some reason, when I’m not. I just want you to like me.”

Lance looked at Keith in surprise and Keith knew he had said something he hadn’t meant to. He needed to leave. Right that second. Lance’s face began to shift into that disgusting smirk and Keith was already wishing he had never opened his mouth.

“All this time you wanted me to  _ like _ you, aw.”

“Ugh  _ this _ is what I was talking about! What’s wrong with you?” Keith felt his temperature rise and fists clench as he turned to leave.

“Wait-“

“Don’t bother,” he said, before opening the door and looking up to see Allura walking towards him. She stopped and looked back at him in surprise, then confusion as she realized he was coming out of Lance’s room. What was equally strange was Lance behind him, his arm outstretched, looking sheepish and almost regretful.

“Are you two okay?” she asked.

“Fine,” Keith muttered, storming past to his own door down the corridor from Lance’s and shutting it without another word.

Allura looked at Lance for an explanation but he just gave her a weak grin and shrugged, “Nothing to worry about princess, night!”

She went to open her mouth again but Lance’s door was already closed. She sighed and decided to bring it up with Shiro the next morning.

~

Lance waited until he heard her footsteps fade away and took a deep breath in, resting his head against his door. He couldn’t leave things like that with Keith. He really didn’t want to face him but there was no way around it, he’d feel bad all night if he didn’t resolve this now.

He got about as far as Keith’s door and was beginning to chicken out, but then he heard something that sounded like Keith talking and he pressed his ear to the door.

“... idiot...”

Lance rolled his eyes. Of course Keith would be talking shit about him.

“I’m such an idiot... stupid... so humiliating...”

Okay Lance was not expecting that. Usually Keith would act all aloof and uncaring, but Lance kind of liked hearing him like this. It made him seem human. Though he didn’t like that Keith was this wound up because of him, he had just been so shocked. How was he to know the guy was going to blurt out how he loved Lance and wanted his undying attention and approval. Okay, maybe that last bit was an exaggeration, but admitting he wanted Lance to like him? Close enough.

It was time to put his bravery to the test as he finally managed a very light knock and put his mouth into the crack of the door.

“Keith,” he whispered.

A second passed and Lance’s eyes met with Keith’s as the door opened. Keith just kinda frowned, and Lance noticed how delicate he looked up close. He also noticed the dark smudges of bags under his eyes, and Keith was still fully dressed... Did this guy know they had pyjamas? Did he even sleep? Moving back finally, Lance checked the hallway Allura had just walked down and then looked back at Keith.

“Uh, can I come in?”

“No.”

Lance grimaced at the blunt rejection.

“Look, I wanna talk seriously this time. I was being a dick, I know, but just let me in before I get in trouble, we should be in bed by now.”

Keith’s eyebrows raised a little and Lance laughed awkwardly.

“N-not like that, I didn’t mean that we should be in bed together,” he said quickly, “haha this got awkward real fast considering here I am trying to get into your room. I feel like I’m making this wor-“

“Fine, come in.”

Keith moved to the side and Lance looked relieved as he walked in. “Thanks.”

Once the door was closed Keith stood with his back against it, looking at Lance in his stupid boxers and dressing gown. Still, at least he had a shirt on this time. Why he insisted on being so confident and self assured was beyond Keith. Though if he was honest he could appreciate Lance had a little reason to be proud of the way he looked.

“Uhh, so do you wanna carry on about how much you want me to like you or?” Lance said, trying to lighten the mood.

Keith just glared at him.

“Okay okay, sorry. I said I would be serious so I will.”

Keith signed and went to go sit on the edge of his bed; Lance watched him do so and looked around awkwardly before opting to sit on the floor. Keith was about to say something but he decided not to, it’s not like he wanted Lance on his bed anyway, what did he care.

“If it makes you feel any better, I want you to like me too,” Lance said in a small voice, and Keith tried to ignore how warm his cheeks suddenly felt. “But I guess because you always seem to one up me on everything it kind of gets in the way.”

“It only becomes a competition because you make it that way,” Keith reminded him.

Lance closed his eyes, like he was about to do something painful.

“I’ve always felt intimidated by how good you are, and you never really cared about me or knew who I was. I guess acting like we were rivals meant you  _ had  _ to notice me, and maybe if I beat you at something I wouldn’t feel like such a failure, I don’t know.”

Keith shook his head, honestly surprised. “You’re not a failure Lance; you don’t have to prove anything to me, or anyone for that matter.”

He laughed bitterly. “I’ve been in people’s shadows my whole life, I have such a big family it’s easy to get lost. Being good at something meant I was important, and I thought flying could be my thing, but you were always there, five steps ahead of me.”

Keith couldn't relate, but he tried to understand. Seeing Lance admit his insecurity in himself was weird for him, but at that moment he found he wanted to know him better, he wanted to have his trust. Keith hoped that this would mean Lance did trust him, and selfishly revelled in the fact that Lance was opening up to him, of all people. He looked at Lance with as much meaning as he could muster without turning red.

“For me flying was all I had. I didn’t have anything else to occupy my time so I worked at it till I was as at the top, and then I still wasn’t happy. What I’m trying to say is being the best at something isn’t going to suddenly make you feel fulfilled, you’re important because of who you are Lance, and nothing will change that.”

Lance processed those words and then smiled, a big dopey smile blasted in Keith’s direction.

“Aww Keeeeith, you do love me,” he said, putting a hand on his heart.

Keith looked at him, baffled. “Seriously? After all that?”

“No genuinely, that was like, a super nice thing to say,” Lance said, still smiling at him, “thank you.”

It was kind of disarming; he’d seen Lance smile like this to the others before, but never to Keith. It was so... full of affection, so warm and giving. 

“Um, you’re welcome I guess.”

“It feels good to get all that off my chest. I feel like we could begin to be friends now, if you wanted that.”

“Please,” Keith said with relief, falling backwards on his bed.

“Didn’t realize you wanted it that badly,” Lance teased.

Keith rolled his eyes. “It’s just because not fighting with you 24/7 would make my life a hell of a lot easier.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Lance stood up and stretched, popping his back, “speaking of which we should both probably hit the hay, I’m not saying I need my beauty sleep, but it certainly helps.”

“Are you tired?” Keith asked quickly, sitting up to look at Lance.

“Well no, not really. Why?”

Keith thought for a while, trying to figure out a way of getting Lance to stay without sounding desperate. They had only just made up and he weirdly wanted to soak up as much of Lance's attention as possible.

“Why don’t you stay and talk for awhile then? That’s what friends do, right?”

Lance’s face lit up. “Like a sleepover?”

“We are way too old to call it that-“

“Hell no we’re not, we’re two grown men having a sleepover. Accept it Keith, accept the facts.”

“You’re telling me you’re a grown man?” Keith said, not hiding the smirk on his face. It felt good to be arguing in a light, unheated way for a change, he felt so relaxed.

Lance gasped, and then smiled back. “Well I’m more grown than you, shortie.”

“I’m not even that much shorter than you!”

“Hmm,” Lance scanned the room and found a notebook lying on the shelf in Keith’s room, “then try and reach this.”

He grabbed it and held it above his head, grinning at the look on Keith’s face. Keith's relaxed manner dropped in an instant and he thought he might actually combust. If Lance looked inside that book, the embarrassment would mean Keith would have no choice but to climb into one of the escape pods and fly himself into the sun.

“Lance, give that back.”

“What is it? Some kind of diary?”

Keith’s eyes widened, “No! It’s just notes from my training.”

“Uh hu,” Lance said, going to open it.

Keith lunged for it but Lance was too fast, holding it up above Keith’s head.

Keith didn’t want to get too close to him, he was still in boxers after all and Keith felt kind of awkward about that, but not as awkward as he would feel if Lance found out what was in that notebook.

Lance tried to read it from above Keith, “hu this is written strangely, is it music?”

“No,” Keith said, indignantly. His panic rising.

It was clear the moment Lance figured it out because Keith saw the biggest grin stretch across his face.

“Is this poetry!?”

That was it; Keith pushed Lance and tried to reach for the notebook, both of them fighting and scrambling until Lance’s back hit the wall and Keith found himself pressed up against him, so close he could see Lance swallow.

“Give it to me  **now** ,” Keith said in a low voice.

Lance’s eyes widened, pausing for a moment before handing Keith the book. Keith took it and stepped back, finally able to breathe again.

“I think I’m gonna go back to my room now,” Lance said suddenly.

Keith felt guilty then; he shouldn’t have taken it so seriously.

“You don’t have to, I didn’t mean-“

“See you tomorrow,” he said, before he was out the door, closing it behind him.

Keith stood there, confused and alone in his room again. He found his mind going back to Lance’s throat and his lips and they way he gasped when Keith pushed him against the door, he found he didn’t sleep very well that night.

Neither did Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this written for ages and never got round to posting it  
> but BAM i did it at last !  
> Thank you for all the kind words and support with this  
> And special thanks to my beta's Cass (after_midnightmunchies) and Kitty (succubustykisses) !  
> Appreciate all y'all reading my mindless fluff, any feedback is highly welcomed & updates will be every week:)


	2. The Race

Lance walked into the kitchen with his eyes mostly closed and held his arms out. “Hunk, you won’t believe what happened last night,” he said.

Hunk placed a mug of what he considered the closest to coffee they would find in his hands, and patted his head. “I think I have an idea.” 

He took Lance’s shoulders and gently turned him to face a rather tired looking Keith sat on one of the countertops. “Oh no, please, continue what you were going to say,” Keith said, sipping slowly from his own mug.

Lance shrugged, blinking the sleep away. Turning back to face Hunk he announced, “so last night Keith invited me into his room, begged me to like him, then pushed me against a wall.”

Pidge walked in at that moment and stared at Lance, wide eyed. “WHAT?” she yelled, just as Keith started choking on his coffee.

“What the hell? That’s not what happened!” Keith spat, furious.

“Then why are you going red?” she asked, squinting at Keith suspiciously.

Floundering, he looked pointedly at Hunk. “I just told you what happened, Hunk. You know he’s lying right?”

Hunk let out a sigh, “It’s Lance.”

Pidge considered this for a moment. “That’s true, Lance does lie a lot. Okay, I believe you, Keith.”

“Hey! I don’t lie!” Lance retorted.

“Maybe not lie, but you do like to exaggerate,” Hunk said, going back to cooking breakfast and shooing Lance out the way, “now as much as I love you, can you all go sit in the dining hall? You’re in my way.”

Lance huffed and strode out the door. Pidge looked at Keith curiously. “So did you really push Lance against a wall?”

“Well, yeah, sort of. But it wasn’t like that...” Keith could feel himself going red again.

“Uh huh.” She patted his arm disbelievingly then left before Keith could say another word.

“He’s going to make everything weird now isn’t he,” Keith sighed.

Hunk shrugged. “Nah, Lance can make things difficult at times, but it’s worth it in the end. He’s always cared about you in his own way.” Keith let himself smile a little at that. 

He left Hunk to finish breakfast and followed Pidge and Lance into the dining hall. When he walked in he saw the two of them whispering to each other, which stopped as soon as they saw him approaching. Keith’s good mood dissipated in an instant. “I can leave if you two want to finish your conversation,” he said, a little aggressively.

“Pidge was just telling me to stop winding you up. C’mere, stop being so grumpy,” Lance said, patting the seat next to his.

Keith glared at him for a moment before begrudgingly sitting next to Lance. It was his usual seat so it wasn’t really a big deal, but Keith secretly felt special that Lance made a point of telling him to sit there, like out of everyone he choose Keith. When did that start to matter to him?

Just then Hunk burst in holding about 5 plates in one go as the others filtered in. “I’ll help!” Coran said, rushing over and taking some plates off Hunk’s hands. After getting the last few plates from the kitchen everyone sat down and thanked Hunk for the meal. 

A few moments passed before Shiro looked over at Keith, giving him a funny look. “So, Keith, Allura said you were in Lance’s room last night.”

Keith’s eyes went wide and he saw Lance begin to laugh.

“Hold on,” Pidge interjected, “I thought Lance was in Keith’s room last night?”

“What? I saw Keith leaving Lance’s room!” Allura said.

“So, you two have been in each other’s rooms?” Hunk asked, trying to hide his smile.

Allura looked baffled. “When were you in Keith's room? I saw Keith leave Lance’s at bedtime... Did you two spend the night together?”

Lance stopped laughing and turned bright red. Keith could feel himself doing the same. “No!” Lance protested.

Keith held onto his fork tightly and tried not to let it get to him. This was a mess.

Everyone was looking at them with matching looks of surprise, and then Hunk burst out laughing. Soon they were all laughing at the two blushing paladins, even Shiro. “It’s not like that!” Lance tried explaining, but it just got lost in the laughter.

Soon it died down and Keith finally looked up to see Lance sat with his arms crossed, pouting and refusing to look anywhere but his plate. He finally opened his mouth. “Like Lance said, it wasn’t like that, we were just trying to get over his weird rivalry thing.”

Pidge sniggered, “yeah you got over it all right. And right into each other’s beds.”

Keith was horrified. This was the most mortifying thing to ever happen to him, he was sure of it.

“Hey, let’s cut them some slack okay,” Shiro said, then started smiling again. “What Lance and Keith get up to together in private is their own business.”

It was starting to get under Keith’s skin now. “Like what you and Allura do in private?”

“That’s highly inappropriate. There’s nothing going on with me and Shiro,” Allura said, shocked.

Shiro looked hurt, even Lance was looking at Keith strangely now, and it was pissing him off even more. “Whatever,” he mumbled, getting up and abruptly leaving.

The table went quiet and Shiro sighed. “I’ll go speak to him.”

Lance huffed in his seat and brooded. Of course  _ Shiro _ was the one to go after him; Keith would never want  _ Lance _ to speak to him. He didn’t feel hungry anymore. “I’m gonna go train,” he announced, before getting up and walking in the opposite direction to which  Keith and Shiro left. The others swapped confused looks,  _ since when did Lance train in his spare time? _

Keith was halfway to his room before Shiro caught up to him.

“Keith! Hey, what's going on?”

He stopped, turning round to see Shiro looking genuinely concerned. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s clearly not nothing.”

“Look, I’m sorry for what I said about Allura. I was just mad and it felt like you were attacking me.”

“No one was attacking you. And that still doesn’t mean you can say things like that, you know I’m still... sensitive about Matt.”

Keith saw how pained it made Shiro to mention his name. He softened, knowing how difficult it was to lose someone you love.

“I’m sorry,” he said, more sincerely this time.

Shiro managed a smile. “It’s okay. Just try not to get too wound up about Lance, you two will figure it out eventually.”

“Figure what out?”

“What you both want,” he said, before patting Keith’s shoulder and walking away.

Keith decided that he didn’t really want to go back to his room after all. Stress and tension usually went away after giving something a good beating, so he redirected his path to the training room. He was surprised when he walked in to see Lance there. He was stood on his own shooting at targets sloppily, not really putting much heart into it. Keith approached him hesitantly. He really did not have the emotional energy to argue with him. Lance saw him approach and started hitting the targets with more ferocity, aiming a little better. Keith would almost say it looked like he was trying to show off.

“Here to watch the show?” Lance said.

“Nope,” Keith replied flippantly, ignoring Lance and going to activate one of the bots.

Keith felt a shot fly past him and hit the wall right above his head. He spun round angrily. “What the hell?”

Lance grinned at him, “what you gonna do about it?”

“So you  _ do _ want to fight me?” Keith said, activating his bayard and pointing his sword at Lance, “bring it on.”

Lance started shooting at him and Keith dodged every time, gradually closing in on him. His smile grew bigger every time Lance missed. This was too easy. Soon Keith was close enough to use his sword and one well-aimed swing missed Lance, but knocked his gun out his hand. It slid across the floor and deactivated, leaving Lance defenceless. Lance managed to keep dodging the blows of Keith’s sword, but it seemed like after a while he just ended up growing bored and giving up. He allowed Keith to tackle him to the ground and press the sword lightly against his throat to keep him from moving, his knees on either side of Lance’s hips.

“Giving up that easily?” Keith asked, breathing heavily and grinning at Lance, who seemed equally as happy despite losing.

“I guess it’s time to stop seeing everything between us as a competition. It’s hard but I think my pride can take it.”

Lance smiled up at him and Keith found himself smiling back. He felt genuinely happy like this; Lance was finally being nice to him and it was so relieving. Keith removed his sword from Lance’s throat and tossed it aside.

“ARE YOU TWO GONNA KISS?” Pidge’s voice suddenly echoed round the room and they both jumped out their skin.

They looked up to see Pidge and Hunk’s figures looking down on them from Coran’s watchtower. They could hear them laughing. Keith looked down at Lance and smiled awkwardly as he got off him and helped him up. As soon as Lance was standing, he put his middle figure up at the two other paladins, then reached out towards Keith and pulled him into a hug.

“This is okay, right? You hug people?” Lance asked.

“Yeah,” Keith replied, feeling slightly dazed.

It was a real hug, not just a flippant, effortless pat, but an embrace. Lance’s arms were around Keith’s waist and Keith had his arms round Lance’s shoulders, which were a lot broader than he expected, and it was just  _ nice _ .

“I didn’t come here for the PG version,” came Pidge’s bored voice, “I’m leaving.”

Keith watched the two of them leave. Lance had his back to them and didn’t seem fazed; he just sighed and rested his chin on Keith’s shoulder. It was so unlike any hug he ever expected to get from Lance, Keith was close to passing out with how intense it felt.

“yourmrmhmf” Lance mumbled.

“What?”

He lifted his chin a little to speak properly, “I said your mullet is in my face.”

Keith knew the peace wouldn't last for long, and resisted the urge to hit him. “Technically your face is in my mullet.”

“So you admit it’s a mullet!” Lance said, releasing Keith from his hold and pointing a finger in his face. “Ha!”

Keith shrugged, “Call it what you want, man.”

He picked up his bayard and went to get Lance’s, a look of surprise and gratitude on Lance’s face when he handed it to him.

“If I’d have known all it took was telling you we’re friends and giving you a hug to make you my bitch, I would have done it ages ago,” he said, smirking.

“You could just say thank you,” Keith sighed, making his way out the training room.

Lance grabbed his arm and Keith looked back. “Thank you,” he said.

He looked genuine, and Keith’s stomach felt funny.

“Do you want a piggyback?” Lance suddenly asked.

Keith frowned.

“Um, no?”

“Psh, boring.”

He considered it and though it was weird and out of the blue, he kind of just wanted to make Lance happy.

“Fine then, but I’m giving you one,” he stated.

Lance’s face lit up, “I dunno how you’re gonna beat Hunk though, he gives the best piggybacks!”

He turned around and Lance jumped on his back. He could jump surprisingly high, and his body was so long it literally wrapped around Keith’s back like a blanket.

“Giddyup!” Lance practically yelled in his ear.

“If you say that again I  **will** drop you,” Keith warned. He hadn't really done this before, but he'd seen other people doing it and trusted himself enough not to look like an idiot.

Lance just laughed and pointed his hand out over his shoulder towards the door, squeezing Keith’s hips with his thighs to make him move. He hiked Lance up a little higher and walked them towards the door, which turned out to be far more difficult to get through than he expected.

“We can’t fit.”

“Sure we can, it’ll be fine.”

“You legs stick out too much!”

“Just go sideways then!”

Keith awkwardly turned and tried to sidestep out the door. They managed it eventually and after walking down the hall with Lance chattering about doing this with his siblings for a little while, they met Hunk and Pidge again.

Lance shrieked and Keith cringed as the sound went right in his ear.

“That’s it you’re getting down,” he said, shaking Lance off his back.

Lance got down but the grin didn’t leave his face. It was maddeningly cute.

“We gotta have piggyback races! I used to do this all the time back home!” He said excitedly.

Hunk and Pidge were on board almost immediately, and of course Keith found himself agreeing to anything Lance wanted. After setting some rules and the start and finishing points, Lance was back on Keith’s back and Pidge was on Hunks, the four of them smiling and getting ready to race.

“Gentleman, start your engines!” Lance shouted, aggressively slapping Keith’s butt. Keith only managed to give a startled yelp before the countdown began, he didn't think he would even know how to react anyway. 

“3...2...1...GO!” Pidge declared, and they were off.

Hunk was stronger and held Pidge like she were nothing, but Keith was faster, and the sound of Lance giggling behind him made him want to win even more. Keith was slightly ahead and nearing the finish line, and just as Hunk and Pidge gained on them he used his last bout of strength and burst out the hallway into one of the ship’s rooms.

Coran was just on his way to see what all the noise was about when the two boys almost crashed into him.

"Whoa, steady on there!” he said, stepping out the way and watching Keith stumble and drop Lance on the floor, who in turn dragged him down with him.

Hunk and Pidge looked down at the two of them laughing breathlessly on the floor and smiled.

“GG, losers,” Pidge said, before smiling slyly. “Oh hey Coran, Hunk and I are headed to the engine room, fancy coming?”

“Sure! Don’t cause too much trouble you two,” Coran called as he left the room.

Lance waved his arm weakly in response. He and Keith were still lay on the floor getting their breaths back (even though Keith was the one doing all the work, he noted) when Lance started to pencil roll towards him like an over-sized child. Once he got close enough to him, he started pushing Keith across the floor too.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked, completely astounded at how ridiculous it was.

Lance just laughed and kept pushing him. Keith reached the end of something and starting fighting back for Lance to stop.

“I’m gonna fall!” He yelled, just as Lance shoved him one last time and he went tumbling down... onto the sofa.

Keith laughed at himself for freaking out. Just as he relaxed something came crashing down on him and he felt Lance’s entire weight squash him into the sofa, his lungs totally crushed.

“Lance,” he gasped, “I can’t breathe!”

“Oh, Keith, do I take your breath away?” he teased.

Keith began pushing at Lance’s side with the arm he managed to wriggle out from under him, but it only made Lance move around and crush him more.

“Okay seriously,  _ ow _ ,” Keith groaned as Lance’s shoulder blade dug into his chest.

Lance finally stopped and let his whole body relax. Keith was able to roll him off slightly and they both ended up lying sideways, with Keith behind Lance in some awkward spoon. They were very close and he half expected Lance to be weird about it, but he wasn’t. Instead he just yawned. It was the middle of the day, but Lance seemed to be _ tired _ . He pushed his back a little further into Keith’s chest.

“Don’t let me fall,” he murmured. His breathing began to slow and Keith could tell he had fallen asleep.

It happened so fast it left Keith feeling dazed. Lance was laying there, right in front of him. Relaxed and comfortable enough to sleep with his entire body pressed so close to Keith’s. He knew Lance was affectionate because of how he acted with Hunk, but he'd never seen them spooning like this before. It made him feel hopeful, but of what he wasn't sure. 

Keith stuck his right arm out above him to rest his head on, and gingerly put his left over Lance... just in case he needed to stop him moving forward. He could have pushed Lance off and laughed at him. He could have even just gotten up and left, but the way Lance had moved back into him and the soft voice he used just before falling asleep, it was the most innocent he had seen Lance. He wouldn’t dream of ruining it. 

Keith realized he was getting pretty drowsy himself. As he let himself relax he found his hand moving itself up and down Lance’s chest, fingertips tracing lines and patterns over his shirt. He wanted Lance to feel soothed, but the other boy just shuddered and a hand came up to still Keith's.

“-tickles,” Lance whispered, still mostly asleep.

His hand, however, stayed on Keith’s. Shifting to link their fingers together and hold his hand. It was so casual and intimate Keith stopped breathing altogether. This sort of thing never happened to him, leaving him unprepared and close to panic. Something about Lance’s presence made his heart race. 

Soon, he found himself feeling comfortable with Lance and he was able to calm himself down. He figured he could analyze it all later. For now he just wanted to enjoy the feeling and get some rest.


	3. The Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I figured this was a great place to end, here's the final chapter at last!  
> this fic has been a lot of fun and it feels good to finally post it after it sitting in my documents for over a year aha  
> thank you for all your kind comments and to my betas cass and kitty!!   
> enjoy:)

Keith woke up to dim lights and a pillow that someone had left next to his and Lance’s heads. Lance, who was curled up in front of him with his back still pressed against Keith’s chest. If this was what being Lance’s friend was like, Keith wished they’d been friends earlier.

He’d never fallen asleep holding anyone before. It was weird to wake up to, but mostly because it was so unexpected. This was the same boy who had driven him up the wall so many times, who adamantly claimed they were rivals only a few days ago. He felt himself smile. Lance had let go of his hand in his sleep but his arm was still over Keith’s, keeping him close. Keith moved the pillow to under his head and felt the dull, uncomfortable ache in his neck and shoulder ease up a little. His right arm, however, had gone completely numb. He tried to stretch it out a little to regain some feeling.

Lance must have felt the slight disturbance. He breathed in deeply and stretched himself out, freeing up Keith’s left arm and giving him the opportunity to let go if he wanted. He didn’t. Once Lance finished a yawn they both lay there, quietly. “Huh, wild,” Lance said after a moment, his unused voice more of a whisper.

Keith didn’t know what to say in response, watching as Lance awkwardly tried to turn his body to face Keith. They looked at each other. Keith’s arm was still around Lance’s waist. He retracted it self-consciously.

“This is nice, but honestly I’m so flipping uncomfortable right now,” Lance said, fighting back a grimace. Keith let out a breath, a smile quirking his lips as he felt the tension relax. Lance was being his usual self, like it was totally normal for him to fall asleep in Keith’s arms.

“Well, we could get up,” Keith suggested.

Lance groaned and stretched out his body again, almost smacking Keith in the face with one of his arms. “I’m still so tired though,” he pouted.

“All you did today was a bit of training?”

“I trained, we fought, and then the piggyback rides too...”

“Which you sat on my back and did nothing for,” Keith reminded him.

“I was cheering! It takes a lot of energy to support people as well as I do,” Lance said matter-of-factly.

Keith just sighed. “Shiro would want us making the most of this time, especially since the exploration missions are tomorrow.”

Lance squinted at Keith and stuck out his tongue. “Goody two shoes.”

“But,” Keith continued, “Maybe relaxing is the best use of our time, since we  _ do _ need to be well rested for missions anyway.”

“Atta boy!” Lance said, reaching up and ruffling Keith’s hair.

“Get off,” Keith murmured, lightly slapping Lance’s hand away. Lance just smiled.

“We could... go to my room then?” Keith suggested, unsure if that was the right move. He was used to bickering, challenges, and pettiness. This was new territory.

Lance looked surprised. “Wow Keith, already trying to get me back in your room, eh?”

Keith rolled his eyes and tried to keep the heat from rising on his face. He climbed up the sofa to the floor above and looked down at Lance.

“Well, you coming or not?”

“Yeah yeah, gimme a sec,” he said, making a fuss of huffing and whining as he dragged himself up.

They didn’t see anyone else around the ship as they made their way to Keith’s room, to both of their relief. Their newfound friendship was heavily under the microscope by the other paladins. It had them feeling a little awkward at times.

Compared to his tentative approach to Keith’s room last time, Lance practically pushed past Keith as they walked in and face planted onto his bed. He sprawled out his long limbs to all four corners and let out a deep sigh.

“You better move your ass,” Keith warned.

Lance rolled onto his side and patted the bed, grinning suggestively at Keith.

Keith ignored Lance’s flirtatious invitation (since when had Lance started flirting with him?) and crossed his arms. “You’re on my side of the bed. I sleep against the wall.”

“Fine, you’re no fun,” he said, shuffling away from the wall the tiniest bit.

Keith just raised an eyebrow at him. “How am I meant to get past you.”

“Well I’m sorry  _ your highness _ . Just climb over me.”

“Can’t you at least take your shoes off on my bed?” Keith asked, whilst taking his own off along with his jacket.

Lance tugged off his shoes and chucked them across the room, narrowly missing Keith’s legs. He gave Lance an unimpressed look before begrudgingly climbing over Lance to his side. Lance had lay on his back, and before Keith was completely off him he used his right arm to wrap around Keith’s waist and pull him down. Keith ended up with his face half pressed into Lance’s chest and opened his mouth to complain, but he couldn’t really think of anything to say. Lance was surprisingly comfortable. It made Keith feel kind of warm. In his usual nature it seemed Lance didn’t say anything about what they were doing or what it meant.

“Can I read some of your poetry?” Lance asked. Keith half expected him to start laughing, but when he didn’t, he realized Lance had been serious.

“I don’t really like people reading my stuff.”

“But we’re friends! Can’t I read just a little bit?”

Keith did sort of want to know what Lance would think of it, but at the same time it was beyond embarrassing and Keith didn’t trust anyone to read something so personal about himself. “Not now, but maybe later,” he said, turning in a little so he was fitted more comfortably beside Lance. He felt Lance’s arm tighten a little around him. Keith wanted to feel content, but the need to talk about what exactly was happening kept pressing in from the back of his mind.

“Lance.”

“Hm?”

“Why are you suddenly so... affectionate with me?”

Keith felt Lance’s body seize up and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of a better way to bring it up.

“Because,” he struggled to find the right words, shrinking away from Keith ever so slightly, “I mean I guess I’m just like this with people I’m close to?”

Keith could tell he was pressing on something better left alone, but he couldn’t help himself. He needed to know if he was special or not. He wanted to be special to Lance.

“Are you like this with everyone though? To this extent? I mean we only made up  _ last night _ and now we’re taking naps together? I don’t know much about friends, but I’m not sure this is what they do.” As soon as the words left his mouth it sounded wrong, Keith knew he’d made a mistake. He hadn’t meant to make it sound so bad.

“I... I was trying to be nice. No need to act like I’m some kind of needy loser forcing this on you. It’s not like you had to go along with any of it!” Lance said, scrambling away from Keith. His voice rose as he spoke, but more from hurt than anything else.

He got up and starting walking towards the door, leaving Keith clutching nothing but the air where Lance used to be. He desperately wanting to say something to fix it, but he had no idea how to make this better.

“Sorry that this was so weird for you. I’ll make sure to not to do it again,” Lance said quietly, and then he was gone.

Keith was smart enough to know that he had to be gentler around Lance showing his true emotions. Lance wasn’t as blunt as he was. But what he wasn’t so smart about was putting that knowledge into action. He should have just let it be, waited until he’d figured out what he wanted to say before opening his mouth. He worried about tomorrow. The last thing on his mind before he fell asleep was the hurt look he’d seen on Lance’s face.

**~**

He walked into the meeting a little later than everyone else the following morning. Miraculously, even Lance was up and ready before him.  They all acknowledged his presence then Allura carried on, going over the logistics of exploration on each planet, oxygen levels, threats, Galra interference. Finally she reached the picking of the teams. Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge were going to a small planet with a known settlement on and a few Galra ships, and Lance and Keith to one just further away which they had little to no information about.

“We just need updated information on anything and everything to do with the planet. If there’s Galra don’t engage, wait till we’re all at the rendezvous point and report back first. I’m sure you’ll work efficiently together, I’m counting on your new found... bond,” Allura said to the two of them.

Keith had never felt so awkward in his life, but when he looked at Lance he showed no signs of anything that had happened the previous night, he just nodded politely and waited to be dismissed.

After getting in uniform and travelling down to his lion, Keith left for the unknown planet with Lance flying beside him in Blue. It didn’t take long for the white and golden sphere to come into view, and the closer they got to it, the more they realized just how large this planet was. Nearing the surface, they also realized the likelihood of finding any Galra was slim to none since it was probably the quaintest planet either of them had visited so far.

They touched down in a large field full of different coloured plants and trees, careful to avoid damaging any as they landed. Keith was the first to get out and start walking around after a diagnostic test on the planet’s breathability came back all clear.

The planet had colours beyond anything Keith had ever seen, everything looked fuzzy and warm, and there were so many bright, bushy trees dotted as far as he could see. The sun shone not too bright despite there being no clouds. Though Keith supposed that was due to the fact this planets sun is probably a lot different to the one back on Earth. At the thought of Earth, Keith looked over at Lance.

He was doing the same as Keith, taking it all in, but with such a look of wonder on his face. Keith watched him being to drift away towards one of the trees. Lance lightly touched the orange bark and smiled to himself.

“Hey, d’you ever watch the lorax?” Lance asked, looking up at the branches above him. He wasn’t looking at Keith, but at least he was speaking to him.

“Never heard of it,” Keith replied.

Lance didn’t look surprised. “The trees here remind me of the ones from that movie.”

“This place doesn’t seem like it could be real to be honest.” Lance didn’t reply, instead he found a nice patch of fuzzy pale blue grass to sit on. He lay back with his arms behind his head and his whole body stretched out, closing his eyes as the wind breezily swept his hair.

“We’re supposed to be gathering information,” Keith reminded him, to which he again got no response.

Eventually he felt the soft looking grass calling him and sat beside Lance, shocked to discover that it felt like feathers beneath his hands. He bit his lip. “Are you still angry with me?” Keith asked.

Lance sighed. Some golden leaves from the trees above fell down and flittered past them. “I wasn’t really angry.” Keith looked up at the dull sun and nodded his head. He was beginning to understand.

“I upset you, and... I’m sorry.”

Lance opened his eyes to glance at Keith. “It’s okay. I was more embarrassed then anything.”

“Why?”

“Because despite what I said, I  _ am _ a needy loser,” he said, miserably.

“Lance,” Keith said softly, but Lance looked away from at him.

Keith was used to keeping to himself, he was used to being alone and in his own space and apart from everyone else. He had been happy that way. But the past few days having Lance around made Keith realized he wanted something different, something meaningful. He knew they should be off doing their mission, but he’d grown to crave the affection Lance had shown him. Keith’s boldness came in handy sometimes as he shuffled closer and lay down beside Lance, putting his head on the other boy’s chest again.

“Guess that makes two of us then,” Keith said nervously.

Lance’s arm instinctively wrapped around Keith’s waist and Keith let out a breath of relief. He looked up at him as he smiled. “Guess so,” Lance said gently.

This was the last thing Keith had expected to happen when they became friends. It was strange how easily it came. He realized in that moment, on that strange colourful planet being held close by a beautiful, complacent Lance, that he didn’t want to let this go.

He had to be honest with himself and admit he might have had a small crush on Lance since the beginning. Back then he would have denied it till he was red in the face, but now it was as clear as day and he was too far gone to even try denying it. It was like signing your own death sentence and sitting back waiting for it to happen.

“So tell me about this movie then,” Keith said.

“The Lorax? Oh man, it’s so good,” Lance said happily, “it’s about this town in this dome thing where they basically have to pay for air because all the trees have been cut down, so there’s no clean oxygen, obviously, and no one’s seen a real tree in years but then this boy-“

Keith listened contently, an amused smile on his face as Lance explained the story enthusiastically while still refusing to give away main plot. According to him spoilers soak up any fun left in this world. Lance’s overdramatic nature used to get on Keith’s nerves, but he finds there’s something endearing about the way Lance expresses things.

They both got onto the topic of films and after finding out Keith had only seen very few, Lance took it upon himself to swear he would show him all ones he’d been missing out on. They both started getting unbelievably excited about returning back to Earth, and talked about all the normal things they could do together.

“I want to take you out for dinner some time,” Keith commented offhandedly.

Lance somehow managed to choke on air as Keith took a minute to process what he’d actually just said. “I’m flattered,” Lance said, laughing weakly.

“I mean- we should go with everyone else! Invite the whole Voltron crew and have a celebration once it’s all over,” Keith backtracked quickly.

“Oh. Yeah of course, that’d be cool,” Lance replied, seemingly a little deflated.

“Or... we  _ could _ go, just us?” Keith tried. His hand was just below the white panel of Lance’s armour and his fingers ran over the thin, black material on his front. He felt Lance’s stomach muscles tighten and the other boy sat up, laughing oddly.

“Yeah, maybe,” he said awkwardly, “shall we get to searching this planet then?”

When he had mentioned bringing the others Lance had sounded almost disappointed, yet when Keith suggested otherwise it literally made him get up and leave. He wondered if he’d ever get close to figuring Lance out.

They decided that taking both lions was too much for just looking round such a calm planet, so they decided to both go in Blue after Lance’s constant persistence. Keith stood behind him and raised an eyebrow as Lance swerved and almost hit another giant tree.

“I thought you were supposed to be good at this by now?”

“I am! You’re just putting me off, quit standing over my shoulder!”

Keith sighed and let go of Lance’s chair to try and find somewhere else to sit when the lion suddenly jerked and Keith fell to the floor. “The fuck?” he looked up and saw Lance smiling at him with the most infuriating grin he had ever seen.

He stood up and stormed over to stand right in front of Lance, blocking the view so he couldn’t see.

“Dude move out the way!”

“Nope, you want to drive like a goddamn idiot then fine. Let me help you,” he said, crossing his arms and planting his feet in place to help keep himself in place.

“Keith”” Lance was really panicked now, “I seriously can’t see. What if we crash?!”

Keith refused to move, and after frantically squinting round him Lance tried to set Blue down. It wasn’t smooth and the lion jolted from the rough landing, unbalancing Keith completely and almost throwing him backwards into the windscreen. The only thing that stopped it was Lance’s arms around Keith’s waist keeping him from being flung back. Lance, realizing what was going to happen, stood up to get a grip on the other boy, one hand on Keith, the other grasping his chair to anchor them. 

“Keith what the hell?! You could have been seriously hurt!”

Lance’s eyes were blown wide and he looked so genuinely worried Keith was surprised, and a little ashamed. “I-I thought you were trying to make me feel stupid again! I’m used to things being that way! I forgot, you know, that we were friends I guess.”

Lance let out a long sigh and brought the two of them closer. He tightened his arms around Keith, who in turn brought his arms up to hug Lance’s shoulders. “Sorry,” Keith said, quietly into Lance’s ear.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. And I’d never want you to feel stupid.”

Keith pulled back a little to look at him, and when Lance smiled fondly Keith found himself being drawn towards him. Before he knew what he was doing he was leaning forward and their lips were just inches apart. Lance had stopped smiling by then, his face barely readable. He wasn’t pulling away, and Keith wanted it so badly. He wanted to be the one to kiss Lance, to have all his attention, to be the person he flirted with and sought after.

But nothing happened. Keith was beginning to lose his nerve. He was about to back away when Lance surprised them both and nudged forward slightly, just enough so their lips were finally pressed together as his eyes fell closed. It was small, uncertain, but a kiss nonetheless. Afterwards they couldn’t look each other in the eye, but neither of them made a move to let go of the other. They just stood in each other’s arms, stunned.

“Ah, we should get going, gotta be at the rendezvous point in a few hours,” Lance finally said.

“You just... you just kissed me,” Keith stated, dumbfounded when the reality hit him.

Lance let go and stepped back. “Well you were the one who initiated it,” he floundered.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” Keith said reassuringly. Lance bit his lip, then took a breath.

“That’s- that was what you wanted, right?” Keith looked down and nodded, feeling himself blush. “Okay, good. Me too,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck.

He sat back down in his seat and waited until Keith looked at him, giving him a small, sly smile. “Why don’t you sit on my lap the rest of the way? So you don’t fall again.”

“I’m not going to sit in your lap, Lance,” Keith replied indignantly.

“Hmm,” was all Lance said before taking Keith by the hips and pulling him forward.

Keith struggled half-heartedly. “How would this even work?”

“You sit sideways across my lap, like this,” he said, getting Keith to sit down and moving him so he was across Lance’s lap with his legs hanging over the arm of the chair.

“Lance, this is weird and uncomfortable.”

“That’s because you’re being awkward. Relax and enjoy the ride!” he said, before taking off again.

At first Keith couldn’t stop clinging onto Lance for fear of rolling off, but eventually he settled for just having one arm around Lance’s neck. He trusted Lance to drive smoothly enough to not worry. It was a truly beautiful planet, the wildlife around them huge and bright. Blue scanned and logged all the information they needed as they flew over the surface. It took a while to cover the whole area of it, but they managed to collect all the data they needed with a few ticks to spare and stopped for one last look at the multicoloured paradise.

“Now  _ this _ is a bonding moment to remember,” Lance said fondly.

Keith smiled at Lance and kissed him.


End file.
